Apparatus for treating fabrics.



M. SMITH.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31. I916.

1 09,773 Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

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APPARATUS FOR TREATING FABRICS.

APPLICATION FI LED MAR. 31. I916.

Pafented Dec. 26,1916.

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M. SMITH.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31. 1916.

1 09,773. Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

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vapor or steam an ra ion.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FABRICS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2c, 1916.

Application filed March 31, 1916. Serial No. 87,890.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, MATH SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residingat Davenport, in the county of Scottand State of Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Treating Fabrics,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for treating fabricsand has especial reference to devices of this character for raising thenap on velvet, or the like, for smoothing wrinkles out of such or othermaterial and for sponging, shrinking and steaming cloth and other suchfabrics.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a neat machine, simplein construction and eflicient in operation, adapted to be cheaplyproduced and which will thoroughly, completely and evenly distribute,moisture and heat throughout the fabric structure, whereby to impartthat desirable new appearance and quality to the fabric by raising thenap, removing wrinkles and creases and furthermore by contracting itsdimensions by the process of shrinking.

Other and further. objects of my invention will become readily apparent,to persons skilled in the art, from a consideration of the followingdescription when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein Figure1 is a side elevation of my improved device with parts broken away andshown in section. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of'Fig. 1. Fig. 8is an end view showing parts in section. Fig. 4 is a bottom view of thetop or cover showing parts broken away. Fig. 5 is a transverse viewthrough the top or cover and part of the vapor generator. Fig. 6 is asection taken on line 66 of Fig. 5. i

In all the views the same reference characters are employed to indicatesimilar parts. In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated apreferred form of my inven tion, which consists of three separable,major portions comprising the base frame 10, the L generator 11 and thetop or c0ver12.

' The base portion is provided with two end frames 13 and 14:. eachhaving two legs 1515, upon which the device is supported. To each of theframes is secured a bracket 16, as by rivets or bolts 17, upon which tosupport thegas burner 18. A strap 19 overlies the gas burner, or pipe18, and is secured to the upper surface of each of the brackets 16 byscrews or rivets to hold the gas burner in proper position. The burnerpipe 18 is provided with a series of spacedapart burners 20, let intothe upper surface of the burner pipe and having slots 21,angularlydisposed, so as to provide substantially a continuous flame from one endto the other of the pipe, so as to uniformly heat the bottom 22 of thevapor generator or water container 11. The frames 13 and 14: areconnected together by a longitudinally extending, perforated strip 23,as at 24. This strip is bent at an angle, as at 23, to form a base uponwhich the generator 11 rests. Another strip 25, which is preferably aninturned part of each of the frames 13 and 14, and which are insubstantially the same plane as the strips 23, join the latteroppositely disposed parallel strips, being connected thereto, as byrivets, as at 26. Side wings 27, constituting flame guards extendlaterally and downwardly from the upper edge of the supporting structureand are inturned at their ends, as at 28, and connected at their ends tothe respective frames 13 and 14, as at 29. These portions provideshields for protectionofthe fabric, or cloth 30 being treated, fromdirect contact with the flame issuing from the burner 18. To the insidesurface of the guards 27 is secured a lining 3lof asbestos, or the like,to prevent theupper metal surface of the guards from being heated tosuch a dangerous degree as to scorch or injure the fabric.

The steam or vapor generator,or water receptacle 11, is generallyrectangular in form, tapering slightly from the bottom to the top; thetop being slightlyconvexdconcave or raised near itstransverse centerprovided with a longitudinally extending trough-like depression 32containing in its bottom wall a series of spaced apart, angularlydisposed slots 33, through which the steam or vapor is to pass out ofthe receptacle 11, into the trough in a substantially continuouslongitudinally extending stream through or into contact with the cloththat is being treated, by this means every particle of the overlyingfabric is evenly subjected to the eifect of the heat and steam or vapor.Surrounding the-part 32 is another troughlike structure or water trap34., somewhat larger than the structure 32 leaving a substantial spacetherebetween and provided in its side walls with a series of steam orvapor admitting perforations 35. These perforations are made near thetop of the side walls of the structure 34 thus forming a trap in thestructure 34 through which the steam passes, in its exit from thegenerator through the slots 33 and 35, into the longitudinally extendingdepression or trough immediately below the cloth 30. At each end of thestructure 3%, and at one or two other intermediate points, a smallperforation 36 is made in the bottom wall to permit the entrapped wateror condensed vapor that may be caught in the structure 34, to entrainback into the reservoir or generator. The area of the perforations 36 issosmall, compared to the perforations that little if any steam or vaporwill pass through the former perforations, most of it going through theperforations and out through the perforations 33, the water beingreturned through the perforations 36.

I prefer to cover the longitudinally extending depression or slot 32, inthe top wall of the generator 11, when the cloth 30 is being treated,for the purpose of confining. the vapor directly to the cloth and forholding the cloth intimately in contact with the upper surface of thetrough, and with this end in view I provide the top 12, consisting oflongitudinally-extending angularly disposed top plates 37 and 38, whichas a matter of fact is a single piece bent at the apex 39, and extendingdownwardly and laterally, each being under-turned at its longitudinaledge, as at 40, to provide a roll or conduit 41. The under side of theplates 37 and 38 contain a sheet of moisture-absorbing material 4-2,such as a strip of felt, having its longitudinal edges terminating overthe conduits 4 14l, so that when this fabric or absorbing materialbecomes super-saturated with moisture it will drip off at itslongitudinal edges into the conduits fl-" L1 and be entrained hold it inplace, having the ends 48 of each of its loops tucked under the salientedges 40 of the plates 37 and 38 to hold the pad in place. The wirestructure a7 may be easily removed for supplying a new pad.

Each of the end plates 44: is provided with an upwardly extending latchmember 49 to receive rod ends 50. A strip of flannel, or other similaryielding material 51 surrounds each of the rods 50 and extends over andbetween the conduits lO-l0, and yieldingly rests upon the upper edge ofthe depression or trough 32 made in the top wall of the generator. Therods 50 are held parallel and in place by the brackets QED-49 and bymeans of a centrally disposed clip 52. The clip has its ends upturnedinto hooks 53 which partly surround the rods 5050 to hold them spacedapart the proper distance to maintain the rods parallel, the cloth 51being cut away, as at 55, for exposing the rods, and to the center ofthe clip 52 is secured a knob or handle 54, by means of which the top,as a whole, may be lifted from its resting place upon the generator.Bythis means the cloth 51 may be held in its place and a new cloth maybe substituted by disengaging the rods from the fend brackets and thecentral clip, a new cloth may be put on the rods and the cloth and rodsreplaced.

Located at one end of the generator 11 is a water reservoir consisting,preferably, of a glass jar, such as a Mason jar, having ascrew threadedtop 61 provided with an orifice 62, supported in a tray 63 whichcommunieates with the interior of the reservoir, as by means of a pipe64. A tray 63 is secured in place by braces 65 which are fixed to theunder side of the tray and to the sides of the generator. The jar 60 isfilled with water and inverted and placed with its neck in the tray 63,and automatically maintains the water level in the generator 11 at aconstant height, by a principle well understood.

The operation of the device is as follows The top 12 is removed and thecloth strip of velvet, or the like, is grasped by its ends in the hands,one end in each hand, and after the top has been replaced, and withconsiderable downward pressure the strip is slowly drawn back and forthtransversely across the rounded top of the generator. Hot, dry steam orvapor will pass through the oblique openings 33 into the longitudinallyextending trough 32 in the top wall and into and through the fabric. Thesuperposed cloth 51 will hold the steam and heat within that portion ofthe cloth 30, that is at the time over the trough being treated, andwill prevent condensation of the moisture, or steam, and escape of theheat, thus maintaining the cloth so treated a longer time under theinfluence of the heat and moisture proceeding blotches in the fabric tocause undesirable discoloration or unequal shrinkage.

While I have herein shown a single embodiment of my invention for thepurpose of clear disclosure, it is evident that consider able variationmay be made in the general arrangement and disposition of the partswithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, What I claim is l. A device of thecharacter described, comprising a generator, provided with an arched topwall having a trough-like depression extending substantially its fulllength and into said generator and perforated in its bottom wall foregress of steam, or vapor, into said trough, whereby to= evenlydistribute it unobstructedly to the superposed fabric under treatment; asur rounding trough-like trap, Within said generator, having its sideWalls perforated for communication with the generator and its bottomwall having relatively small perforations whereby to entrain the liquidof condensation, and means for heating the liquid within the generator.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a generator, providedwith an arched top wall having a trough-like depression extendingsubstantially its full length and into said generator and perforated inits bottom wall for egress of steam, or vapor, into said trough, wherebyto evenly distribute it unobstructedly to the superposed fabric undertreatment; a superposed cover for overlying said fabric under treatment;an absorbent, yielding sheet normally covering said trough, carried bysaid cover, and a guide for holding the cover on said generator andspacing it thereabove.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a burner-supportingframe structure; a separable steam generator, removably mounted thereon,said generator having a. continuous elongated slot formed in its topwall; a water trap extending under said slot, within said generator,having openings to entrain water into said generator and to permit onlysteam or vapor to escape through said elongated slot.

4:. A device of the character described,

comprising a burner-supporting frame structure; a separable steamgenerator, removably mounted thereon, said generator having a continuouselongated slot formed in its top wall; a water trap extending under saidslot, within said generator, having openings to entrain Water into saidgenerator and other openings to permit steam, or vapor to escape throughsaid elongated slot and means to automatically maintain water level insaid generator below said trap.

5. A device of the character described comprising a burner-supportingframe structure; a separable generator, removably mounted thereon, saidgenerator having a continuous elongated slot formed in its top wall; awater trap extending under said slot Within said generator, havingopenings to entrain water into said generator and other openings topermit steam or vapor to escape from said elongated slot into contactwith the cloth being treated; means to automatically maintain waterlevel in said generator, below said trap and a removable top or coverhaving a yielding moisture-absorbing fabric normally covering said slotand to overlie the cloth being treated by use of the device.

6. A device of the character described, comprising a burner structuresurmounted by a. water containing steam generator, said generator havinga transversely arched top provided with a channel-shaped depressionhaving a plurality of diagonally disposed steam orifices in the bottomthereof, and a removable spaced-apart cover provided with a yieldingfabric normally overlving and covering the mouth of said channel.

7. A device of the character described, comprising a heat generatingstructure; a steam or vapor generating structure separably mountedthereon and provided with a channel shaped depression extendinglongitudinally of its top wall and having steam or vapor openings spacedapart in the bottom of said depression; a trap Within said watercompartment surrounding said channel-shaped depression throughout itslength, and a Water reservoir rising above and communicating with saidsteam or vapor generator to automatically maintain water level therein.

8. A device of the character described, comprising a steam or vaporgenerator, having an arch-shaped top with a depression in the wall ofthe said top at the apex of the arch, said depression provided withsteam openings; a removable spaced-apart arch-shaped top structure,having the apex of its arch substantially in the same vertical plane asthat of the generator structure and having its terminal side edgesinturned to form conduits; a moisture absorbing pad underlying themembers of the arch structure, terminating in said conduits and ayielding cloth extending between said conduits and overlying the dehandin the presence of two subscribing Witpresslon 1n the top of szudgenerator, benesses. tween WhlCh and said depression the cloth or fabricto be treated is to be contained, and MATH SMITH means for heating thecontents of the gen- In the presence of erzttor. MARY F. ALLEN,

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my Fomn BAIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D C. o

